deferred entry to reception

[boristhebold68]

Hi all ,
DS2 is due to start reception in Sept 2012 and has an August birthday. I have accepted a place at the local primary but as he will only just be 4 when he starts I was hoping to request either that he attend part time , or defer his entry until the summer term ( ie after Easter hols ) so that at least he gets a term of reception before starting Y1.

Although not looking forward to having this discussion with the head I was fairly confident ( thanks to mumsnet info re schools admission code para 2.69!) that even if the school were not happy with deferred entry that the LA was obliged to hold my sons place and therefore I would have been able to send him in the summer term.

I contacted my LA just to check the position and I was pretty gutted to hear that the schools admission code has been updated as of Feb 2012 and that although I can ' request' deferred entry , the LA are no longer obliged to hold my son's place.

This means I either have to send my son in Sept or the other option is of missing reception altogether and taking a chance and reapplying in Y1 ,

I would be very grateful if anyone has any more info regarding this change in legislation and if they know whether the LA interpretation of the code is correct . It seems crazy that I cant choose to send my son later in the year but if this is correct then I just have to accept it

thanks v much in advance

My son went part-time after deferring a term (as he was not legally required to start school until the summer term). Part-time attendance caused zero problems. I made sure that my son was ahead of the level required in the year so that he did not need any extra work from the teacher. I never asked the teacher to catch up (so if she marked on a Thursday and my son was off that day, I accepted he had no marked work that week). We agreed that for special events, like assembly or outings, my son could attend if they fell on his off days. I also let the school decide what part-time hours worked best for them, rather than demanding particular days/half-days.

Hungrytot - sounds like it worked well for you . Did your son go part time for the remaining 2 terms or FT for summer term? Also what PT agreement did you come to ?( eg 3 days per week or 5 half days?)
Sounds good advice re making sure DS is ahead of level required and also letting the school determine the days.

have spoke to LA - they insist that 2012 SAC took effect in Feb and is therefore relevant for admissions in 2012. She asked me had I heard this from a higher source ( was thinking yes - mumsnet! but instead was v vague) but she will go back and clarify with Dept of ed.
When I spoke to Dept of Ed they said that some LAs are using the 2012 code with respect to admissions and some still the 2010. When I asked which was correct she didn't seem to know but advised that I need to put my request for deferral in writing to LA.

How can some LAs be so unsure of the regs and the DfE so little interested in the fact that they have cause such a shambles.
Having said that it is irrelevant which code they want to use, it still say the same thing which is parents have the right to defer entry of their child or start part time

My DD has an August birthday and started school at the end of the August after her birthday. The school would have let her do half days until Easter but in fact she went full time from the October half term. Despite being ready for bed by 6 every night she did really well and was very happy.

curious to see how this resolves...

Re request for deferral to the LA. Really? I just told the school I was deferring. They said: 'Oh Sounds like a great idea!' Absolutely nothing to do with the LA at all. (In fact when I called the LA they told me to tell the school).

Op, yes HTs know about right to defer. Your school's HT will prob know more than admissions dept (might be staffed by temps at presurred bits of the year: won't necessarily know code inside out)

Hungrytots advice is good on all points.

yes HT may know about it but if they refuse to allow the option of deferral ( which is likely), if I know that the LA is obliged to hold DS place then I can still go ahead and start in the spring or summer term anyway ( is the theory!).
In the past the LA was not obliged to hold the place if not taken up in Sept.

how are you going to clarify this? clarification must be available. how can you get hold of someone in the department of education who knows what they are talking about? you need one competent person there who you can direct the local authority to talk to if they query you. does admissions have any idea of where you should turn?

It's stated clearly on the DfE website, on the page which deals with the 2012 School Admissions Code: "The School Admissions Code takes full effect on admissions arrangements being locally determined in respect of the pupil intake for the 2013/14 academic year and thereafter."

A similar statement is contained in the 2012 SAC itself, under the heading "The Statutory Basis..."

www.education.gov.uk/schools/adminandfinance/schooladmissions/a00195/current-codes-and-regulations

HTs can't refuse you the right to defer. If you have been offered a place, make sure you accept according to whatever they ask you to do (sign form, show birth cert, and proof of home address etc). Then the place is yours, then contact the school and say you are deferring. Really shouldnt be a problem. Agree though that pt ate dance may be preferable, but it's your call. (I am a primary HT, it's really not an issue round here, defer, part time, we do all sorts and are quite flexible)

Sorry 'ate dance' is meant to be attendance.

have had call back from LA and they say they contacted DfE who confirmed the LA's position ie that the 2012 code is effective from 1st Feb ( I know what you are saying Saracen , that was exactly my point to them ).However when I asked what would happen to DS place if school declined my request for deferral but I decided that I were going to defer anyway LA said that they probably would not be able to take away my place. It seems that whilst LA are not stating that they will keep place open , given that it has been accepted they cant take it away.
I need to have my meeting with Head and will then take it from there.

Your LA is totally incompetent, Boris.

If they were not bound to allow deferral under the SAC, they certainly could take your son's school place away if he did not attend. In fact, they would have to do so. If it were true that you could not defer, they should be telling you that you will lose the school place if you don't take it up by sending your son in the autumn.

Telling you that you can't defer but that the school place won't be taken away if you don't send your son to school in the autumn is a nonsense. If the school place couldn't be taken away, there would never have been any need for a right to defer to be written into the SAC.

They are making it all up as they go along.

I agree with tiggytape, I think the LA and the school are playing a game if brinkmanship, if they say it long and hard enough then parents who don't know better will believe them.
Ask for it in writing and see what happens.

My LA was upfront and told me that they knew that parents had the right to defer, but they were not advertising this and not encouraging this as it was administratively difficult for them (and for schools). However, they did not try and stop me actually doing it - so they were one step up from your LA.

The law is on your side, so do what is right for your son. Hopefully the school will surprise you by being amenable. Uou might find they are willing to compromise on part time attendance if it means they get some money as opposed to none (if you don't start till April). As for the school - just be polite but firm: You are excercising your legal right.

yes it is a fine line to tread -especially when I prefer to be upfront about things . I have been advised that I should let them come up with the solutions and ask them what they would suggest given my concerns ( rather than me requesting things). I would much rather say what I was hoping for ( ie part time ) - let them know that I am aware of the bottom line ( ie my right to defer ) and then see what they come up with. I suppose as long as I remain polite , I can always then be more direct in writing if I need to follow up with a letter.
As you say it would be great if they were more amenable than expected and perhaps the funding will swing it !
thanks again for all your help - is making me feel that I will go into this meeting v well briefed and aware of my rights!

Speaking as a Reception teacher, can I say please don't defer him completely! Children learn so much right from day one and it's stuff that isn't taught in the same way again or in the summer term. E.g. My children learn all the phase 2 sounds in the autumn term. If your child missed all this, he would be at a significant disadvantage later in the year when the children moved into more complex work and he disn't have all that background knowledge. Even if he just started with mornings it would be better than nothing.

If it helps, my whole class are summer babies, many late August and all have coped brilliantly from day one :)

have had meeting with HT and he was clear that going part time is not an option. He stated that if I decide to defer then I do that at my own risk ie the place will not be held .( even though DS 1 is already at the school) He said that the school is full and seems to be increasingly popular ie stating that the risk of losing the place is real.
Whilst the meeting was all perfectly friendly I felt he had zero understanding of my concerns. eg using analogy of training for a running race '' they get used to it", whereas my point is that if DS is slightly older when he starts he will be better able to cope with a full school week.

I did mention that I thought the parental right to defer was stated in the SAC but he said that used to be the case but not now.
The school is becoming an academy on 1st August just to complicate things

Currently the LA are saying that although they have now realised that the 2010 code does in fact apply to admission arrangements for 2012/13 , the paragraph that refers to deferred entry to reception does not come under '' admission arrangements'' and is therefore subject to the 2012 SAC ie no right to deferral.

• admission-I presume this is now the game of brinkmanship that you predicted!

I presume as you advised Tiggytape , ChristineCagney and Admission , this is now where I just need to put it in writing to the LA and school.?

I do feel nervous about it though as I do worry about the school's reaction and hope that they won't treat me and DS any differently. I presume as long as I remain polite and friendly they will hopefully forget about it in time...??